Wildfires

Wildfires in The Woodlands

Regarding wildfires, The Woodlands Township’s professionally staffed Fire Department stands on full alert for any and all fires. First, The Woodlands Township topography and infrastructure provides certain advantages to combat a wildfire, unlike other rural areas of the county. These advantages include large, cleared drainage areas, which serve as natural breaks, excellent water supply readily available throughout The Township, open space reserves, which separate some of the residential areas, roads that provide access to the vast majority of our area and a minimum of 37 firefighters staffed 24/7. The main advantage is access to water. You might notice fire hydrants all over The Woodlands. There are nearly 4,000 points of access to water, strategically placed throughout The Woodlands. These were specifically designed to assist in fire control. The wildfires you see did not have easy, readily-available access to water. Additionally, The Woodlands Fire Department is led by a fire chief whose 33-year career includes all kinds of major fires, bombings, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural and man-made disasters.

Should a wildfire situation begin to develop, the Fire Department will immediately request assistance from the Texas Forest Service and mutual aid partners who have equipment suited for off-road firefighting, to assist in the extinguishment. The Woodlands Fire Department will operate according to its Emergency Operations Plan and quickly analyze the situation, establish the level of emergency, activate the Emergency Operations Center if necessary and implement the communications plan as appropriate. During a wildfire of this magnitude, should it develop, The Woodlands Township will also consider evacuation of neighborhoods threatened, accomplished through emergency personnel on the scene, KSTAR radio (99.7 FM), official Township emergency alert notifications and other mediums available, establishing temporary shelters for those residents displaced and activation of off-duty personnel.